Aesthetics and the Evolution of Code
summary
Claim: aesthetics in code are measurable. An unscientific September poll produces an aesthetic index across five interaction channels and six languages: Python ranks first, Ruby a close second, JavaScript and C# much lower; PHP loses ~3.5% of developers yearly while Ruby and Python lose <1%. Code evolution maps genotype/phenotype: languages seek ubiquity and flexibility, Unix survives by modularity, IE6 by entrenchment. Elegance is a tradeoff among correctness, performance, brevity, readability and matters for maintainability and reputation.
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chapters (9)
- 0:00Intro
- 1:39Aesthetics
- 3:26Applying Aesthetics
- 5:18Evolution
- 7:08Johnny Appleseed
- 10:17The Selfish Gene
- 13:38Evolution vs Programming
- 14:40Aesthetics of Languages
- 16:48Aesthetics of Code
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